Making sense of Knots: Wood Filler, Filler Sticks & Wood Repair

A knot found embedded inside a piece of wood can either be a point of weakness which renders that part of the plank unusable, something we can cover up or (more seldom) something that we wish to preserve, show off and fall in love with. Today, we will discuss the matter of filling these knots – either to cover up or to reveal.

Wood Filler

Used to cover up mistakes made by the woodworker perhaps when measuring, cutting or drilling too deep – wood filler can go a long way to preserve the finish of an otherwise gorgeous piece of woodwork. 

Back in the day, woodworkers would have to manufacture their wood filler out of sawdust and some sort of adhesive which is clean, thin and easier enough to use. Today, thankfully, these wood fillers are readily available in a paste form to make life easier. Available in various colors, these fillers are pigmented to closely emulate the most common species of woods found today.

Our range of Brummer Wood Fillers are amongst the most popular fillers on the market. 

Filler Sticks

Also available in a range of wood matching colors, filler sticks are used for the same purpose as the wood filler. The stick form makes it easier to apply, especially on cracks and small surface areas. 

Simply scrape off the necessary amount to fill your hole/crack, soften the surface with your fingers, level down with a plastic scraper and buff off the excess with a cloth.

Wood Repair

This is a specialized tool created by the Danish woodwork repair experts Wood Repair. This very unique acts like a heat gun in that one fit in the filler stick into the gun and the resin-based solution is heated by the gun and passed through to the tip using a trigger. 

Great for repairing knots, cracks, splits and defects in your wood pieces. The wood filler solution is durable, water-repellent, flexible, quick and easy to use. 

• • Simply insert a Knot Filler stick in the Knot Filler gun and turn it on
  • Ensure that the temperature is set correctly (see knot filler label)
  • One the Knot Filler gun is has become warm, pull the trigger to quickly apply the Knot Filler into the repair
  • Once applied, place a cooling iron/block on the Knot Filler spot. 
  • Remove excess Knot Filler with a cutting tool when the Knot Filler has cooled off and has an even-colored surface
  • You can then sand the repair (by machine or hand)
  • Finally, apply to finish thereafter. 

The unique feature of this Knot Filler is in being able to not only filler the knot by covering it up with the appropriate color, but one can also use the “clear/transparent” colored filler to fill the gap while still revealing that a gap did once existed. This gives you the benefit of having the rustic aesthetic of a revealed knot without compromising the integrity of the workpiece as seen below: 

Available in two different sizes, the basic Wood Repair BCD 180 Knot Filler Kit and Wood Repair BCD 360 Knot Filler Kit (both accepting different diameter sticks respectively.

View our full range of our Wood Filler Solutions Tools4Wood.